The Lakeshow Review

The Lakers played again tonight. This time against the vaunted Denver Nuggets, albeit without All-Universe superstar Nikola Jokić, but still boasting a feisty and talented group led by Jamaal Murray and Aaron Gordon. LA came into the game on the heels of a rough skid, having gone 2-5 in the their last seven. Sunday’s win against the Raptors was big, as it afforded the team some measure of momentum before hitting the road. In a pleasant turn of events, Luka Dončić had one of his best games of the season, and helped the Purple and Gold erase a 14 point halftime deficit to ultimately win 115-107. Good start to the roadie, now let’s see if they can string together some wins and maintain their place in the standings.

This game had the all-too familiar Lakers get overwhelmed by opponent’s hot three point shooting, tuck their tails in and look forward to the next game kinda feel to it. Especially early on. Denver was white hot, draining nine threes in just the first quarter. The usual culprits were ever present, as LAs defensive rotations and closeouts were as bad as they’ve been as of late. LeBron in particular had a series of lazy closeouts that are of the backbreaking variety. Luka’s patented first quarter surge helped keep the team in the game, scoring 16 of his 38 points in the opening frame.

To the coaches’ credit, they’ve been mixing it up lately. Tonight they turned to a little bit of zone defense. Unfortunately, Denver smoked it. They stretched the Lakers defense and found the open cracks through sound passing, leading to wide-open shots. Denver also successfully got the ball to the middle of the free throw line, where zones are most vulnerable. Much of the team’s struggles early on this game were due to their abysmal zone execution. Eventually, they reverted back to man defense, where Denver still cooked them, momentarily. As the game went on, they did settle down.

LA trailed 37-28 after the first quarter. Then trailed 71-57 at the half marker, after a last-second heave by Jamaal Murray. Murray for his part, was spectacular; scoring 28 points (on 4-8 from beyond the arc) to go with 11 assists. The Lakers had their hands full in trying to contain him, whether it was Marcus Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent or even Luka, Murray cooked everyone. To counter, Head Coach JJ Redick adjusted by doubling Murray in the second half, thereby forcing other players to score the ball. It was a fruitful move, as Murray scored just two of his 28 points in the final 24 minutes, going just 1-6 from the floor.

LAs defense as a whole was much improved in the second half. Jaxson Hayes provided great energy in place of Deandre Ayton, who exited the game after being poked in the eye. The offense found a spark as well. Their 13-0 run to open the third quarter propelled them back into the game. Offensively, the team showed up tonight. Luka’s 38 point, 13 rebound, 10 assists triple-double was the main attraction. Marcus Smart scored 15 big points, 12 of them in the fourth quarter, including a pair of momentum-shifting treys. Good to see the rare Smart shooting exhibition not go to waste today. The bench scored 32 points collectively with strong contributions from Rui Hachimura and Hayes. Drew Timme scored nine points, as a reserve, and continues to impress with his awareness and situational IQ. He already has a good rapport with Luka and LeBron. Speaking of LeBron, he played a decent game with 19 points on 15 shots, to go with eight boards and nine dimes. His scoring, though, was quite cherry-picked, mostly doing damage on drives and leakouts in transition. I still question his ability to excel off the ball consistently in a half-court setting. I’m also weary about his ability to produce at the level suggested by his salary against elite teams, without the ball in his hands most of the time. Tonight wasn’t a bad game for James, he did miss some bunnies at the rim and shot 2-6 from the charity stripe, but I think it’s fair to expect more from LeBron, especially against the better teams.

The Lakers broke through in the fourth and hung on for the win. A welcome sight. It was good to see the team finally win a game where they were able to weather the opponent going nuclear from three-point range, without being demoralized. Their defensive execution in the second half was night and day compared to the first half. It’s great to start the road trip off with some momentum, and something to build off of. JJ Redick also announced before the game that Austin Reaves is expected to return at some point in the next seven games, possibly around February 3rd. It’ll be a huge boost to get AR back, particularly with the team having flashed some positive signs in the last few games. For now, they have to continue building off of their well-earned momentum. Luka and LeBron need to hold down the fort and help the team stay competitive on the road. Tonight was a good step, now it’s time to start thinking about sustained stretches and stacking wins to build confidence and chemistry. Hopefully they keep it rolling. Go Lakers.